


Confession

by trash_mountain



Series: Crushes [2]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Confessions, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Soft Boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 09:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12009570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trash_mountain/pseuds/trash_mountain
Summary: Preston finally worked up the courage to confess to Max, but will it workout the way he imagined?Kind of a sequel to my fic Quiet, but it could be read as a stand alone.





	Confession

**Author's Note:**

> I got a lot of nice feedback on my fanfic Quiet! So I thought I'd write another maxpres fic for you guys! Thank you so much for your support and amazingly nice comments! <3

The end was coming. Their beautiful, yet chaotic summer was coming to a close. The red curtains were about to shut on their first summer here at Camp Campbell, and Preston could not be more nervous. He had big plans. Very big plans! Yes, he was going to confess!

And what was he going to confess?

Why, his feelings of course! Preston was going to finally confess his feelings to the one and only Max. The feelings he kept locked away and refused to act on, until now. He had good reason too, of course. It wasn’t exactly easy for Preston to tell if Max liked him back. They started hanging out more halfway through July. They grew a bit closer, well, close enough for Preston to feel like Max didn’t fully hate him. 

Because Max’s feelings were unknown to Preston, he decided that the best course of action would be to confess at the end of the summer. If it went well, he would ask Max to trade phone numbers, emails, even home addresses so they could talk and see each other. If it went poorly, then since it was the end of the summer, Preston wouldn’t have to see Max ever again. 

Preston really hoped it wasn’t the latter.

But, even so, Preston was not going to give up hope. He was charming, friendly, understanding; the perfect qualities for a boyfriend if he did say so himself. Why wouldn’t Max want to date him? Unless...he didn’t find Preston charming, friendly, or understanding. 

Preston smacked his cheeks with both hands, trying to knock those negative thoughts out of his head. He didn’t have time for such nonsense! He needed to finish his preparations. He already slipped the note for Max to meet him by the docks at sunset and fully memorized his confession, all he needed now was to find the perfect finishing touches to the bouquet he oh-so perfectly put together. 

Which, was what he was currently doing right now. He stood in the back room of the theater stage, his flower options sitting out on a table in front of him, along with a few choices of paper to wrap the flowers in and maybe a shake of glitter. Preston scanned over each item, different ideas forming in his head. All of which seemed far too eccentric for what he assumed Max’s taste to be. He would probably want something simple. 

With that thought in mind, Preston chose a single red rose and a few different types of white flowers he found to surround it. Then, he picked the plain white and black polka-dot craft paper to wrap it in. He gently placed the flowers to the side, checking the paper over quickly to make sure he didn’t get any dirt or blood on it. Picking those roses proved to be a bit of a challenge, and the bandages covering each of his fingers proved as much. 

He held the bouquet gently in his hands. It looked beautiful. He hoped Max liked it. With a smile on his face, Preston walked out of his tent. The sun was just barely dipping past the trees. It was almost sundown, he should probably head over to the docks and wait for Max there. That’s what he should do. That’s what he wanted to do.

However, his body wouldn’t move. Nerves started to eat away at his belly as he stood there outside of his tent, his hands shaking just a bit as he held his perfectly arranged flowers. Preston was nervous. He was so horribly nervous. He wanted this to go well, more than anything. Preston let out a slow breath. If this was a play he wouldn’t be so nervous. Maybe he should try and pretend it was? 

Oh! That was a great idea! If he pretended this was a play and he was playing the role of a young bachelor trying to find love then maybe, just maybe he could get through this without becoming a nervous wreck. He took another breath and began to walk towards the docks, doing his best to stride with confidence. 

He recited his confession out in his head, his lips moving just a bit had he went over every word. He wanted this to be perfect, and it would be. It would be. Preston stopped in front of the docks, facing the water as he watched the sun dip further in the sky. Max would be arriving any minute. Preston smiled just a bit before a thought occurred to him.

What if Max didn’t even show up?

Panic started to settle in Preston’s heart, his throat tightening at the horrible thought. No, Max might be mean sometimes but he wouldn’t just stand him up. He wouldn’t! 

“What’s up, Preston?”

“Eep!” Preston jumped and whirled around, hiding the flowers behind his back as he came face to face with the object of his affections. He felt his face heat up at the embarrassing noise that just came out of his mouth. “D-don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Max rolled his eyes before raised a brow, “So, what did you want me to meet you out here for?”

Ah, yes, as always Max doesn’t beat around the bush. Preston shuffled his feet, his grip on the flowers tightening.  


It’s just like a play. It’s just like a play.

Their eyes connected.

This is nothing like a play.

The nerves started to come back and Preston dropped his eyes to the ground. “I-I-”

“Dude, what’s the matter?” Max started to sound, concerned? However, it was still laced with his usual sarcasm and tired tone, making Preston second guess if he even heard the concern. 

Preston inhaled through his nose. He could do this. He looked up at Max, opening his mouth to start his perfectly practiced speech. But, once again, no words came out. Why couldn’t he do this? What was wrong? Preston felt his throat tighten again as he tried to force something, anything, to pass his lips. 

All that came was a short broken laugh. He covered the lower half his face with his free hand, “Ugh.” 

“Preston, whatever you have to say to me just fucking say it.” Max was starting to sound impatient. 

Preston laughed awkwardly again, “I’m trying.” He lowered his hand, his eyes still focused on the grass below his feet. “I had- I had planned this whole thing out, from start to finish. I knew exactly what I was going to say and knew exactly what I was going to do, but...” 

Preston frowned, his lower lip trembling. “But now that you’re here standing in front of me, I can’t get the words out. I can’t say it, even though it’s all I ever think about!” He looked up, the anguish clear on his face. 

Max looked confused, and just a bit worried. For Preston or himself, he didn’t know. “What do you mean? What can’t you stop thinking about?”

Preston groaned, pressing his hand hard against his forehead. This was frustrating. He was so frustrated with himself for not getting out the words, as always. Preston groaned louder and stomped his foot. “You!” He shouted.

“Me? What about me?” He sounded defensive. 

Preston made a frustrated noise, “Do you not get it, Max? It’s you! I’m thinking about you! It’s always you! I did all of this so I could finally work up the courage to actually confess to you!” 

It had said that much louder then he had meant to, which made the silence that followed feel that much more painful. Preston slowly looked up at Max. His face clearly read shocked, he probably wasn’t expecting that at all. His arms hung limply at his sides, his bright green eyes wide with disbelief. 

“You mean, you have a-?” Max cut off his own sentence, his bottom lip disappearing behind his teeth as he bit down. 

“A crush on you, yes.” Preston forced out as he moved the flowers out from behind him, presenting them to the other boy. 

They stood in silence, both staring down at the small bouquet as the sun dipped further out of sight. The area around them darkened. Preston felt like he was suffocating. He wishes Max would say something or even do something. Anything. 

“Why?”

Preston looked up. Max was still staring down, his expression unreadable. “W-why what?”

Max looked just a bit frustrated, “Why do you have a crush on me?” His fists clenched. “Why do you like me? I’ve been nothing but shit to you.”

Preston laughed just a bit. “That’s true.” He felt Max glare at him but he smiled in response. “You’re mean to a lot of people, and you dislike a lot of things. For the longest time, I was so sure that you didn’t like me at all, and I resented you for what you did to my play.” 

Preston sighed, the hand holding the flowers dropping to his side as he placed the other on his chest. “I thought I disliked you, but...those feelings have changed now. Drastically.” 

Max’s expression tightened. “What changed them?”

“You did,” Preston said simply, chuckling a bit at the heavily confused face Max now possessed. 

“What the fuck-”

Preston held up a hand, “Please, allow me to clarify.”  
Max closed his mouth and shoved his hands in his front pocket, looking at Preston expectantly. 

“Well,” Preston started. “I figured out that I had a crush on you that day you were sleep deprived and ended up sleeping for 2 hours on my shoulder while I wrote my newest play.”

Max blushed brightly at the mention of that day. He had been so embarrassed when he woke up that he even threatened Preston to never mention it or he would burn down his stage. Preston agreed on the spot. 

“Up until that day, I would act a certain way around you. My throat would tighten,” He placed his hand on his neck. “And my stomach would feel like it was in knots.” He moved his hand down to his stomach. “I thought those reactions were because of how much resentment I felt towards you because of what you did to my play.” Preston sighed. “But I realized later that my reactions were because I liked you.” 

Max had moved closer during the course of Preston’s explanation. He stood less than a foot away from him now, a mirage of emotions crossing his features. “That barely answers my question.” 

Preston laughed awkwardly, “I know it doesn’t, but while I know I have a crush on you I’m not entirely sure why they came about.” He smiled gently. “We’re just kids too, we don’t exactly understand everything and why people feel certain ways about others.” 

Max frowned, his eyes focused on the lake behind Preston, “What exactly did you want from me when you decided to tell me this?”

It was Preston’s turn to frown. “I don’t want anything you’re not willing to give.”

The shorter boy finally looked at him. The look on his face made Preston’s stomach clench unpleasantly. “What the fuck is that suppose to mean.”

“What I mean is, I had best and worst case scenarios. The best would be that you reciprocated my feelings and decided to date me. We would exchange numbers, emails, addresses, anything to keep in touch, and see where this would lead us.” Preston smiled bashfully. He hadn’t really planned on telling Max his best and worst cases. “The worst case would be you hating me and rejecting me, never wanting to speak to me again.” 

Max’s frown deepened, his eyes narrowing in heavy thought. 

“However,” Preston started. “Neither of those things have to happen. I’m perfectly content with us potentially becoming better friends. I just want to be around you and get to know you more.” 

Max glanced at Preston before moving his focus back to the lake. He was silent for a few minutes before he slowly started to nod. “Let’s start with that last one. Becoming friends and shit first.” 

Preston smiled brightly, nodding his head vigorously, “Of course! That would be nice.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” Max’s face was turning red. 

The sun was gone now, leaving them with just a pale blue glow of the rising moon and the dim lights of the campground not too far away. 

“Thank you for giving me a chance.” Preston said, his voice taking on a blissful tone. 

Max grumbled as he buried himself deeper into his sweatshirt. “It’s not something to thank me for.” He glared at the ground. “For all you know I could never return this crush of yours, and we’ll just be friends forever.”

“But there’s also the chance that you could.” Preston stated, waving his finger. 

Max glared at him now. “You sound awfully confident.”

“Just because I decided to remain optimistic doesn’t mean that I’m being overly confident. I also wouldn’t mind continuing to stay your friend. Just being with you is enough for me.” Preston stepped closer to Max, moving to stand beside him. He felt his heart warm when Max didn’t move away. 

The other boy just clicked his tongue his annoyance. “You watch too many sappy romance movies.” 

Preston laughed his big theater laugh. “Well, I am a romantic at heart Max. Why do you think I went through all of this just to confess?” 

Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” 

They fell back into a short silence. It was broken by the sound of a bell and David’s voice ringing through the camp. “It’s time for our last activity of the night before all you campers go home tomorrow! I want everyone by the bonfire in ten minutes!” 

Max sighed. “I hope it’s nothing stupid.” 

Preston grinned. “I’m sure it’ll be a nice activity.” He moved to start walking away. “I’ll see you by the fire.” 

“Wait.”

Preston turned. Max wasn’t looking at him, and the light was too dim for him to tell if that was a blush on Max’s face or not. “What is it?” 

“Those flowers. They were for me weren’t they?” He asked, sounding just a bit defensive. 

“Well, yes-” Preston started but was cut off when Max shoved out his hand. 

He blinked a few times before gently offering the flowers, which Max snatched quickly. He held them against his chest, still not making eye contact with Preston as he muttered a quick, “Thanks.” and started walking off. A bit aggressively he adds. 

Preston watched the boy walk away, his heart still hammering in his chest. He placed a hand over it. He felt happy. He smiled, his cheeks warming. 

“Hey!” 

Preston looked up. Max stood a good distance away, “David will get all annoyed if we’re late, so get a fucking move on Preston.” 

His smiled widened. “Coming!” He shouted back, jogging to catch up with Max until they were walking side by side. Soon, they could make out the glow of the bonfire and the silhouettes of the other campers. 

“Preston,” Max said, a bit quitely. 

“Hmm?” Preston kept his gaze on the upcoming scene before them. 

“You should give me your house number or whatever you have.” Max rushed through the words a bit. “So, we can hang out or talk or something. Now that the summer is over.” 

Preston glanced over at Max quickly, “Of course.” His smile still wide on his face. 

He was glad he confessed.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr --> @trash-mountain
> 
> I'll even take requests if y'all have any!


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